Kansas 2023-2024 Regular Session

Kansas House Bill HB2825 Compare Versions

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1	1	Session of 2024
2	2	HOUSE BILL No. 2825
3	3	By Committee on Appropriations
4	4	Requested by Representative Sutton
5	5	3-12
6	6	AN ACT concerning health and healthcare; relating to hospitals; requiring
7	7	that hospitals provide online pricing information for certain items and
8	8	services; enacting the consumer protection related to hospital price
9	9	transparency act; deeming noncompliance with such act to be an unfair
10	10	or deceptive trade practice; providing for monetary penalties for
11	11	hospitals found to be noncompliant with such act; amending K.S.A.
12	12	2023 Supp. 50-626 and repealing the existing section.
13	13	Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
14	14	New Section 1. (a) Sections 1 through 4, and amendments thereto,
15	15	shall be known and may be cited as the consumer protection related to
16	16	hospital price transparency act.
17	17	(b) As used in the consumer protection related to hospital price
18	18	transparency act, "hospital" means the same as defined in K.S.A. 65-450,
19	19	and amendments thereto.
20	20	New Sec. 2. (a) Pursuant to 45 C.F.R. § 180, each hospital operating
21	21	in the United States is required to provide clear, accessible pricing
22	22	information online about the items and services that each such hospital
23	23	provides. Each hospital that is licensed in Kansas pursuant to K.S.A. 65-
24	24	427, and amendments thereto, shall provide:
25	25	(1) A list of the hospital's top 300 procedures with corresponding
26	26	pricing information and a plain language description of each such
27	27	procedure included in a consumer-friendly format on a public-facing
28	28	website;
29	29	(2) upon request of a patient scheduled to receive an elective
30	30	procedure, a test or service to be performed by the hospital or, upon
31	31	request of such patient's legally authorized representative, made not fewer
32	32	than three days in advance of the date on which such elective procedure,
33	33	test or service is scheduled to be performed, furnish the patient with an
34	34	estimate of the payment amount for which the patient will be responsible;
35	35	and
36	36	(3) written information about the patient's ability to request an
37	37	estimate of the payment amount pursuant to this section.
38	38	(b) The written information required pursuant to subsection (a)(3)
39	39	shall be posted in conspicuous public areas of the hospital, including
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75	75	registration or admission areas, and included on any website maintained by
76	76	the hospital.
77	77	New Sec. 3. (a) The attorney general shall have the authority to
78	78	enforce the provisions of this act.
79	79	(b) If the attorney general finds that a hospital is noncompliant with
80	80	45 C.F.R. § 180, as in effect on July 1, 2024, then such hospital shall be
81	81	fined $250 per day that such hospital is noncompliant.
82	82	(c) Noncompliance with the provisions of this act shall constitute an
83	83	unlawful or deceptive trade practice as provided in K.S.A. 50-626, and
84	84	amendments thereto.
85	85	New Sec. 4. (a) Any hospital not in material compliance with this act
86	86	on the date that items or services are purchased by or provided to a patient
87	87	shall not initiate or pursue a collection action against the patient or a
88	88	patient guarantor for any debt owed for such items or services.
89	89	(b) (1) (A) If a patient believes that a hospital was not in material
90	90	compliance with this act on the date that items or services were purchased
91	91	by or provided to the patient and the hospital undertakes a collection
92	92	action against such patient or patient guarantor, then such patient or patient
93	93	guarantor may file a civil action against the hospital to determine if:
94	94	(i) The hospital was materially out of compliance with this act or
95	95	rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, on the date that the items or
96	96	services were purchased or provided; and
97	97	(ii) such noncompliance with this act is related to the items or
98	98	services purchased by or provided to the patient.
99	99	(B) A hospital shall not undertake a collection against a patient or
100	100	patient guarantor while a civil action as described in this section is
101	101	pending.
102	102	(2) (A) If the trier of fact finds that the hospital was materially out of
103	103	compliance with this act or rules and regulations promulgated thereunder,
104	104	after considering standards issued by the federal centers for medicare and
105	105	medicaid services and standards set by this act, the court shall order the
106	106	hospital to:
107	107	(i) Refund the payor any amount of the debt the payor has paid and
108	108	pay a penalty to the patient or patient guarantor in an amount equal to the
109	109	amount of the debt;
110	110	(ii) move to dismiss, with prejudice, any collection action relating to
111	111	the debt and pay any attorney fees and costs incurred by the patient or the
112	112	patient guarantor relating to such action; and
113	113	(iii) cause to be removed from the patient or the patient guarantor's
114	114	credit report any report made to a consumer reporting agency relating to
115	115	the debt and take necessary actions to cause any report made to a
116	116	consumer credit agency relating to the debt to be removed from the
117	117	patient's or patient guarantor's credit report.
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161	161	(B) The court shall provide a copy of the order issued pursuant to this
162	162	subsection to the attorney general to notify the attorney general of the
163	163	material noncompliance finding.
164	164	(c) Nothing in this act shall be construed to:
165	165	(1) Prohibit a hospital from billing a patient guarantor or third-party
166	166	payor, including a health insurer, for items and services purchased by or
167	167	provided to the patient; or
168	168	(2) require a hospital to refund any payment made to such hospital by
169	169	a patient, patient guarantor or third-party payor for items purchased by or
170	170	provided to the patient so long as such hospital has not undertaken a
171	171	collection action against such patient, patient guarantor or third-party
172	172	payor in violation of subparagraph (b)(1)(B).
173	173	Sec. 5. K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 50-626 is hereby amended to read as
174	174	follows: 50-626. (a) No supplier shall engage in any deceptive act or
175	175	practice in connection with a consumer transaction.
176	176	(b) Deceptive acts and practices include, but are not limited to, the
177	177	following, each of which is hereby declared to be a violation of this act,
178	178	whether or not any consumer has in fact been misled:
179	179	(1) Representations made knowingly or with reason to know that:
180	180	(A) Property or services have sponsorship, approval, accessories,
181	181	characteristics, ingredients, uses, benefits or quantities that they do not
182	182	have;
183	183	(B) the supplier has a sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation or
184	184	connection that the supplier does not have;
185	185	(C) property is original or new, if such property has been deteriorated,
186	186	altered, reconditioned, repossessed or is second-hand or otherwise used to
187	187	an extent that is materially different from the representation;
188	188	(D) property or services are of particular standard, quality, grade,
189	189	style or model, if they are of another which differs materially from the
190	190	representation;
191	191	(E) the consumer will receive a rebate, discount or other benefit as an
192	192	inducement for entering into a consumer transaction in return for giving
193	193	the supplier the names of prospective consumers or otherwise helping the
194	194	supplier to enter into other consumer transactions, if receipt of benefit is
195	195	contingent on an event occurring after the consumer enters into the
196	196	transaction;
197	197	(F) property or services has uses, benefits or characteristics unless the
198	198	supplier relied upon and possesses a reasonable basis for making such
199	199	representation; or
200	200	(G) use, benefit or characteristic of property or services has been
201	201	proven or otherwise substantiated unless the supplier relied upon and
202	202	possesses the type and amount of proof or substantiation represented to
203	203	exist;
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247	247	(2) the willful use, in any oral or written representation, of
248	248	exaggeration, falsehood, innuendo or ambiguity as to a material fact;
249	249	(3) the willful failure to state a material fact, or the willful
250	250	concealment, suppression or omission of a material fact;
251	251	(4) disparaging the property, services or business of another by
252	252	making, knowingly or with reason to know, false or misleading
253	253	representations of material facts;
254	254	(5) offering property or services without intent to sell them;
255	255	(6) offering property or services without intent to supply reasonable,
256	256	expectable public demand, unless the offer discloses the limitation;
257	257	(7) making false or misleading representations, knowingly or with
258	258	reason to know, of fact concerning the reason for, existence of or amounts
259	259	of price reductions, or the price in comparison to prices of competitors or
260	260	one's own price at a past or future time;
261	261	(8) falsely stating, knowingly or with reason to know, that a consumer
262	262	transaction involves consumer rights, remedies or obligations;
263	263	(9) falsely stating, knowingly or with reason to know, that services,
264	264	replacements or repairs are needed;
265	265	(10) falsely stating, knowingly or with reason to know, the reasons
266	266	for offering or supplying property or services at sale or discount prices;
267	267	(11) sending or delivering a solicitation for goods or services which
268	268	could reasonably be interpreted or construed as a bill, invoice or statement
269	269	of account due, unless:
270	270	(A) Such solicitation contains the following notice, on its face, in
271	271	conspicuous and legible type in contrast by typography, layout or color
272	272	with other printing on its face:
273	273	"THIS IS A SOLICITATION FOR THE PURCHASE OF GOODS OR
274	274	SERVICES AND NOT A BILL, INVOICE OR STATEMENT OF
275	275	ACCOUNT DUE. YOU ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO MAKE
276	276	ANY PAYMENTS UNLESS YOU ACCEPT THIS OFFER"; and
277	277	(B) such solicitation, if made by any classified telephone directory
278	278	service not affiliated with a local telephone service in the area of service,
279	279	contains the following notice, on its face, in a prominent and conspicuous
280	280	manner:
281	281	"_____________________________ IS NOT
282	282	(name of telephone directory service)
283	283	AFFILIATED WITH ANY LOCAL TELEPHONE COMPANY";
284	284	(12) using, in any printed advertisement, an assumed or fictitious
285	285	name for the conduct of such person's business that includes the name of
286	286	any municipality, community or region or other description of the
287	287	municipality, community or region in this state in such a manner as to
288	288	suggest that such person's business is located in such municipality,
289	289	community or region unless: (A) Such person's business is, in fact, located
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333	333	in such municipality, community or region; or (B) such person includes in
334	334	any such printed advertisement the complete street and city address of the
335	335	location from which such person's business is actually conducted. If
336	336	located outside of Kansas, the state in which such person's business is
337	337	located also shall be included. The provisions of this subsection shall not
338	338	apply to the use of any trademark or service mark registered under the
339	339	laws of this state or under federal law; any such name that, when applied
340	340	to the goods or services of such person's business, is merely descriptive of
341	341	them; or any such name that is merely a surname. Nothing in this
342	342	subsection shall be construed to impose any liability on any publisher
343	343	when such publisher had no knowledge the business was not, in fact,
344	344	located in such municipality, community or region;
345	345	(13) (A) making an oral solicitation for products or services based on
346	346	a mortgage trigger lead unless the solicitation clearly and conspicuously
347	347	states in the initial phase of the solicitation that the solicitor is not
348	348	affiliated with the lender or broker with which the consumer initially
349	349	applied and that the solicitation is based on personal information about the
350	350	consumer that was purchased, directly or indirectly, from a consumer
351	351	reporting agency without the knowledge or permission of the lender or
352	352	broker with which the consumer initially applied;
353	353	(B) making a written solicitation for products or services based on a
354	354	mortgage trigger lead unless the solicitation clearly and conspicuously
355	355	states on the first page of the solicitation that the solicitor is not affiliated
356	356	with the lender or broker with which the consumer initially applied and
357	357	that the solicitation is based on personal information about the consumer
358	358	that was purchased, directly or indirectly, from a consumer reporting
359	359	agency without the knowledge or permission of the lender or broker with
360	360	which the consumer initially applied. Clear and conspicuous shall include
361	361	legible type in contrast by typography, layout or color with other printing
362	362	on the first page of the correspondence; and
363	363	(C) any solicitor under clause (A) or (B) shall be in compliance with
364	364	the provisions of the Kansas mortgage business act, unless otherwise
365	365	exempted from such act, and any other law or regulation; and
366	366	(14) failing to release funds representing an insurance settlement
367	367	payment for damage to real property subject to a mortgage by the
368	368	mortgage holder to the mortgagor within 30 days after receiving written
369	369	proof that the damaged property is replaced or otherwise repaired to the
370	370	satisfaction of the mortgagor and the mortgage holder. Any person who
371	371	submits false information regarding the condition of the property shall be
372	372	liable in damages to the mortgage holder or the mortgage holder's assignee
373	373	for the amount of the funds together with interest thereon, attorney fees,
374	374	and any additional damages that the mortgage holder or the mortgage
375	375	holder's assignee has incurred; and
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419	419	(15) noncompliance with the provisions of the consumer protection
420	420	related to hospital price transparency act.
421	421	Sec. 6. K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 50-626 is hereby repealed.
422	422	Sec. 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
423	423	publication in the statute book.
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